Banana

[landsurfer]

Banana skins shouldn’t be discarded of this way, it’s littering. They take years to decomposed I recently discovered. I did the three peaks a few months again and our guide showed us a banana skin that had been out in the wild over two years, it was very black but completely intact.

Your "Guide" .... ???
The 3 Peaks ..... which 3 Peaks .... Nepal ? Cambodia ? Antarctica ?
I take it he has also plotted all the Gel wrappers discarded by his clients on the 3 Peaks ....

[al_yrpal]

Phosgene… Oops! I often get things slightly wrong, just made the Mrs a G&T with Soda Water

Al

[thirdcrank]

... Most people in the UK open them at the stalk end. Countries where bananas are a major part of the diet open them like monkeys and apes - at the bottom. It’s easier, obviously the animals know what they’re doing. ...

I've learned something here.

[661-Pete]

I'm now puzzling - last time we had a fried plantain with our dinner, how did I open the thing? I know that I generally cut off one end with a knife and then peel the skin back...

But which end?

If only there were no more pressing matters to ponder.....

[Mick F]

Banana skins shouldn’t be discarded of this way, it’s littering. They take years to decomposed I recently discovered.

They decompose very quickly.
We chuck ours in the compost bin and they decompose as fast as anything else in there that's soft. Woody stuff takes ages, but soft stuff goes PDQ.

[Cunobelin]

Phosgene… Oops! I often get things slightly wrong, just made the Mrs a G&T with Soda Water

Al

Bananas are actually liked unripe, then transported. When they get to the supplier they are then "forced" to ripen:

On the first day, the bananas are dead green. It is necessary for them to be transported this way, but the fruit will not ripen without some help.

On Day 1, green bananas are tested for temperature and fruit maturity. Then the fruit is placed into one of several specially designed ripening rooms. The banana specialist ventilates the room to a consistent humidity and holding temperature.

On Day 2, the specialist checks the pulp of banana samples again. If all is well, the banana load is given a prescribed amount of ethylene gas. Note: Ethylene is normal byproduct given off from fruits and vegetables and is not a liquid. The ethylene mix circulates throughout all the cartons inside the sealed ripening room and remains so overnight.

When Day 3 arrives, the specialist flushes the ethylene out of the room, ventilating it with normal atmosphere. The load is held at the same 60-62 degrees that continues through the ripening process. The fruit is still green but has now been "triggered" to ripen.

On Day 4, the fruit remains in its green state, but throughout the day, begins to "break" in color. At this point the specialist monitors the fruit like a mother hen, waiting for the fruit to turn.

By Day 5, the fruit typically is ready to ship to retailers. The bananas ideally ship at a 2½ to 3 stage, which is slightly more green than yellow, but within hours and in transit to the store, the fruit will ripen at a more rapid rate.

[Cyril Haearn]

Monitors the fruit like a mother hen, +1

Anyone found a spider with their bananas?

I like them quite ripe [bananas not spiders ], many people do not, a colleague used to give me ripe ones for free
..
Besides, we do not want banana trees growing between Whernside & Penyghent

[Pastychomper]

I like spiders ripe enough to catch flies, but not too ripe.

Very ripe bananas are a bit like beetroot: edible as they are, but better in a cake.

[Cyril Haearn]

I used to buy dried black bananas in the wholefood store, how are they produced?

[mnichols]

Banana's "the atheist nightmare"

According to this guy bananas are proof that god exists. Watch from 1:11

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXLqDGL1FSg

[661-Pete]

Oh dear!

My version:

In the Beginning, the Devil created the Banana.
So that:
1. you could get fat from eating too many.
2. you could slip on the discarded skin and fall.
3. it could be used (in the plural) to describe someone who's a bit crazy.
4. it could be used (derogatorily) to describe a Third World republic without a sustainable economy.
5. it could deliver a small but significant dose of radiation.
6. it would spark off a spurious debate between Britain and the EU, as to whether or not it should be straight.....

Any more?

[661-Pete]

Actually, I rather suspect that the banana, not the apple, was the 'forbidden fruit' in the Garden of Eden.

Stands to reason. Anyone who's eaten a banana is bound to have knowledge of both Good and Evil...

[fausto copy]

What gets me is the stringy bits down the length of a banana.
When I complained about them to an old mate t'other week, he said he thought they made the bananas interesting

I've noticed most young kids heave when they end up with a bit in their mouths.
I think it's about time someone developed a banana without the stringy bits.....

...and while we're on such a topic, how about a boneless fish too.

fausto.

Just remembered, when I was an apprentice back up in Liverpool, one of the guys always used to answer the phone with:
"Bootle Banana Bending Company"

[al_yrpal]

In the markets in Peru you see people selling black bananas but I have no idea what people do with them?

Al

[fausto copy]

They're great for making Banana cake.